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Esta tesis se centra en el estudio de las políticas públicas de algunos países de la Unión Europea en relación con el emprendimiento i la innovación. Se basa en la idea de que existe una divergencia entre algunas de las economías más avanzadas, entre dos estructuras económicas opuestas: unas siguen el mismo patrón de siempre y otras crean nuevas estructuras. Cambios tecnológicos en el corazón de dichos desarrollos han favorecido nuevas actividades económicas y cambios institucionales significativos han dado lugar a dichas estructuras económicas cambiantes. La falta de uniformidad de los cambios en diferentes países ha provocado dos mundos opuestos. Una de las diferencias fundamentales entre estas estructuras económicas opuestas tiene relación con las políticas públicas. Hay cuatro aspectos diferenciales de las políticas públicas que evidencian estos cambios que permiten distinguir entre las estructuras económicas antiguas y nuevas. Las políticas públicas en las economías antiguas favorecen la regulación, se crean a nivel nacional, se centran en el output y facilitan los métodos tradicionales de financiación. Por otro lado, las economías transformadas favorecen la estimulación, con políticas públicas desarrolladas regionalmente o localmente, centradas en los inputs i a favor de la financiación de riesgos. Estos aspectos de las políticas públicas, especialmente los que favorecen la innovación y el emprendimiento, han contribuido a la aparición de varios niveles de emprendimiento e innovación en cada escenario. La economía nueva estimula actividades de innovación y emprendimiento y, por lo tanto, se puede calificar de economía emprendedora. La economía antigua, es más reticente a dichas actividades y se suele llamar economía dirigida.El análisis está basado en teoría institucional, desde el punto de vista de la cual se conciben las instituciones como restricciones que se imponen para reducir las incertidumbres implicadas en las interacciones humanas. Incluyen instituciones formales, como las leyes, los procedimientos y las políticas gubernamentales, y permiten definir el conjunto de oportunidades económicas disponibles en una economía. Una función importante de las instituciones es determinar el atractivo o los incentivos para aprovechar cada una de dichas oportunidades y, por tanto, que tengan consecuencias directas tanto para actividades de emprendimiento como de innovación. La tendencia general en muchos países es que el gobierno puede estimular las actividades de emprendimiento e innovación con iniciativas de política pública.Se separan los países entre economías dirigidas y emprendedoras, en función de la evidencia de transformación tecnológica y la adopción de la innovación en la economía. Sus políticas públicas para el emprendimiento e innovación se examinan para identificar los cuatro aspectos diferenciales. Se hace un análisis posterior para identificar el impacto que estas áreas específicas de las políticas públicas puede tener en los niveles actuales de actividades de emprendimiento e innovación en cada grupo. Los resultados empíricos muestran que los aspectos diferenciales de las políticas públicas de los grupos de economías es más fácil identificarlos en aquellos países que se sitúan en el extremo del abanico y son menos evidentes para los países que caen en medio. Los efectos de las políticas públicas en actividades de emprendimiento e innovación no son tan fáciles de identificar como se pensaba. Los efectos de las políticas públicas regionales es generalmente positivo y no se identifica ningún gran impacto para el financiamiento. / This thesis studies public policies for entrepreneurship and innovation in some European Union countries. It is based on the notion of a divergence of some of the more advanced economies into two polar economic structures with some continuing in the old ways and others creating new structures. Technological changes at the heart of these developments have facilitated new economic activities and significant institutional changes have given rise to these changing economic structures. The lack of uniformity in the changes across countries has created two polar worlds. One of the fundamental differences between these polar economic structure is in public polices. Four trade-offs in public policy signal these changes that help to differentiate the old and the new economic structures. Public polices in the old economies favor regulations, public policies that are created at the national level, policies that target output and which facilitate traditional methods of financing. The transformed economies on the other hand favor stimulation, regionally/locally developed public policy, targeting of inputs, and policies that support risk financing. These trade-offs in public policies specifically those for innovation and entrepreneurship have contributed to the varying levels of entrepreneurship and innovation that each setting has experienced. Subsequently, the new economy stimulates activities in innovation and entrepreneurship and is therefore labeled the entrepreneurial economy. The old economy is more restrictive to such activities and is referred to as the managed economy. The analysis is founded on Institutional Theory, which sees institutions as constraints that are imposed to reduce the uncertainties involved in human interactions. They include formal institutions such as laws, government procedures and policies and define the set of economic opportunities that are available in an economy. An important function of institutions is to determine the attractiveness or incentives for pursuing each of those opportunities and therefore have direct consequences for both entrepreneurship and innovation activities. The general trend across many countries is that government can stimulate both innovation and entrepreneurial activities by instituting public policy initiatives. The group of countries is separated into managed and entrepreneurial economies based on evidence of technological transformation and the adaption of innovation in the economy. Their public policies for entrepreneurship and innovation are then examined to identify the four trade-offs. A subsequently analysis is done to identify the impact that these specific areas of public policy may have on the actual levels of entrepreneurship and innovation activities in each grouping. The empirical results shows that the public policy trade-offs between the two groupings of economies are most readily identified at the extreme end of a continuum and are less obvious for the countries that fall between the extremes. It is also most obvious in three trade-offs. The effects of public policy on entrepreneurship and innovation activity are not as clear cut as expected. The effect of regional public policy is mostly positive and no strong impact could be identified for finance.

Value pricing strategies are beginning to be considered for future improvements in suburban areas that currently do not experience significant congestion but are expected to become congested in the future. This is a significant departure from implementing these strategies in congested urban areas as is commonly done now. Therefore, traveler reaction in these suburban areas is unknown. To plan and design value pricing projects most effectively, it will be necessary to gain an understanding of suburban travelers' potential reaction to value pricing. Responses to a survey of travelers using the eastern and western segments of Interstate 10 (I-10) outside of San Antonio were used to study differences in response to value pricing by suburban population groups. These surveys collected information on travelers' socioeconomic and trip characteristics as well as their attitudes towards value pricing in the form of potential Express Toll Lanes (ETLS). Stated preference scenarios presented to survey respondents were used to develop mode choice models. These models were used to determine characteristics that may impact the decision to choose to travel on the general purpose lanes (GPLs) or the ETLs. This research suggests that the implementation of value pricing strategies on suburban corridors may pose a challenge from a policy standpoint. The populations using these corridors appear to be more varied in their responses toward value pricing than populations using congested urban corridors. Overall, it was found that the majority of travelers on I-10E and I-10W are not favorable to the implementation of value pricing for the future expansion of these corridors. However, I-10W travelers seem to be more willing to pay for travel time savings. This is likely due to the fact that travelers on I-10W earn higher average incomes, are more likely to use I-10W on a regular basis for commute purposes, and are more often exposed to some traffic congestion. Conversely, travelers on I-10E are more likely to use I-10E less frequently for non-commute trips, travel longer distances, and probably do not have an intuitive sense of the value they would place on travel time savings since they do not regularly experience congestion.

This paper evaluates how a firm uses vendor managed inventory (VMI) to manage inventories under costs constraint in uncertainly industrial environment and various demand. The emphasis of this research is to discuss the impacts how demand variation influences the effects of the firm executing VMI and how different supplier levels (ABC) affects firm¡¦s VMI strategy. This research built a cost model which contained construction cost, overhead cost, inventory cost, and shortage cost and compared the profits ex-using VMI with the profits using VMI. Furthermore, use the same model to find out the most proper VMI decisions in different supplier levels¡¦ conditions. This paper obtained some conclusions. First, the firm using VMI under uncertain demand would take more advantages than under certain demand. Second, we can find the best VMI strategy of a firm.

Adapting from System Dynamics methodology for model building and simulation, this paper provides a structural and systematic approach toward analyzing the actual operations of Vendor Managed Inventory in fastener supply chain and constructs application steps for implementation. Optimum replenishment parameters of VMI model are established through scenario designs, dynamic simulations, parameters tuning and key performance index measuring. Four key findings are: (1) VMI model is able to reinvent the competitive advantage of an enterprise and enhance the competitiveness of the entire industry; (2) the key success factor of VMI is acquisition and integration of the dynamic information over the supply chain; (3) the efficiency and effectiveness of VMI operation can be enhanced through dynamic modeling and parameter tuning; (4) Systematic modeling approach provide feasible methodology in solving real world VMI problems.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2001. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 174-192). Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2000. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 188-199). Available also in a digital version from Dissertation Abstracts.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2003. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 54-57). Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2003. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 54-57). Also available on the Internet.